Water-meter.



W. H. SITTS.

WATER METER.

APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 14, 19o9.

950,544. Patented Mar. 1, 191 0.

z; hands of dials for which some of the hand entrain sar urns PATENT OFFICE.

'WILLIAM H. SIT'IS, or CHICAGO, ILLIhfOIS.

WATER-METER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed October 14, 1909.

Patented Mar, 1, 1910. Serial No. 522,586.

Teal! whom ZZ may concern:

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM I-I. Srrrs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in l/Vater-Meters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to the indicating Water-meters and similar measuring mechanisms, and its object is to absolutely prevent fraud being practiced by tearing 01f said hands and thereby preventing the amount indicated on the dial from being accurately read when inspected. This I accomplish by the means and in the manner hereinafter fully described, and as more particularly pointed out in the claims, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, in which Figure 1 is a full-size plan view of a mutilated indicator dial of a meter from s have been removed, showing the application thereto of my improved means for correctly ascertaining the position 'of the indicator spindle and reading the dial. Fig. 2 is'a greatly enlarged plan view of the thousands dial showing in detail the application of my invention. Fig. 3 is an exaggerated transverse section of one of the digit spindles taken slightly below the indicator hand (the latter being shown in dotted lines). Fig. '4 is a perspective View of the detector key or templetemployed in connection with my invention. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 of a modified construction.

' Referring to the drawings, 2 represents the multiple indicator dial or indicator plate of a suitable meter out through the center of each dial, 4, of which an indicator spindle 3 projects in the'usualmanner. These spindles are provided with th'e usual gears and pinions for properly rotating the same at the ratio of ten to one i. 0. to each rotation of the tens spindle the units spindle will have revolved ten times, and the hun dreds spindle one-tenth of a rotation and so on. cylindrical and have the mounting boss of the indicator hands, 5, soldered or otherwise secured to their extensions. Just below the outer ends of these spindlesand at a suitable distance away from the hands so that the solder will not run down and interfere with 'particular shape or The outer ends of these spindles are end. The key for use in this connection conthe same, I reduce the lateral dimensions of said spindle to form a neck, a, the outlines of which in cross section describe an acute angle, the central line of which intersecting its apex, 6, points in the same direction as the extremity of the hand secured on the end thereof.

When a hand hasbeen removed, through accident or fraudulent intent, as illustrated, for example on the 1,000 and 100,000 dials in Fig. 1 of the draWings,-it is impossible to read the dial, and in this contingency, I employ a suitably shaped key or templet, 7. The inner extremity of this key, 7, is bifurcated to form a V -shaped or angular recess, 8, the sides of wh1ch correspond to and fit the longer s1des of the acute angle, 6, of said neck a. At a suitable distance from its bifurcated end the shank of this key tapers to a very narrow width so as to form a pointer, 9, as it were, terminating, preferably, at the edge of the dial, and it thereafter widens out again to' provide a handle portion at the opposite end.

'When the bifurcations 011 the end of the keyhave been adjusted so as to fit the angular neck a, of a spindle from the end of which the latter hand has been removed, the bodyof the key will extend in' the same direction as its hand would have pointed had it remained in position, and the pointer will -1ndicate the numeral to be registered, thus enabling the operator orinspector to correctly read the meter and accurately ascertain the amount measured thereby.

VVhileI have shown and described a cutaway portion or neck on the spindle and the bifurcated end of the key as triangular in shape, it, of course, will be obvious thatvarious other tributing to the same result may be em- I ployed with equal success, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to an figure, and any such changes I desire to include within the scope of my claims. For example, as shown in Fig. 5 the spindle may have a small hole 10 tapped radiallyin the outer portion near-its forms to the shape of a spanner with arms projecting from either side of the pointer 12, and corresponds in curvature to the sides of the spindle. Projecting radially from the center of the are formed by the arms 11, is a small pin 13 that is adapted,

forms or designs capable of con order to meet I of which is provi index hand, and

when the device is in use, to be seated in the hole 10 of the spindle. The remainder of the length of the he is the same as that i hereinbefore described and as shown in Figs. 1 1, 2 and 4 of the drawings.

What I claim as new is 1. A meter com rising a register the face of which is provi ed with a dial having an index hand, and a spindle to which said hand is secured, the outer iortion of which nearest said hand is altered, in combination with a key one extremity of which is provided with a recess the sides of which correspond to and fit the altered portion of said spindle.

2. A meter comprising a re ister the face of which is provided with a dial having an index hand, and a spindle to which said hand is secured, the end of which nearest said hand is altered, in combination with a key one extremit of which is bifurcated and the side edges 0 said bifurcation shaped to corres ond with and fit the altered portion of sai spindle.

3. A meter com rising a re ister the face ed with a dial having an a spindle to which said hand is secured, the outer portion of which nearest said hand is provided with a neck, in combination with a key one extremity of which is provided with a recess the sides of which corres 0nd to and fit the neck portion of said spin le.

'furcatio'n shaped 4. A meter com rising a re ister the face of which is provided with a ial having an index hand, and a spindle to which said hand is secured he end of which nearest said hand is provided with a neck, in combination with a key one extremity of which is bifurcated and the side edges of said hito correspond with and fit the neck portion of said spindle.

(v 5. A meter corn risin a register the face of which is pro'vi ed with a dial having an 1 index hand, and a spindle to which said hand i triangular shaped is secured, the outer portion of which nearest said hand is provided with asubstantially triangular-shaped neck the apex of which points in the same direction as said hand, in combination with a key one extremity of which is provided with a recess the sides of which correspond to and fit the triangularshaped neck port-ion of said spindle.

6. A meter comprising a register the face of which is provided with a dial having an index hand, and a spindle to which said hand is secured, the outer portion of which nearest said hand is provided with a substantially neck the apex of which points in the same direction as said hand, in combination with a key one extremityof which is bifurcated and the side edges of said bifurcation shaped to correspond with and fit the triangular shaped neck portion of said spindle.

7. A meter com rising a register the face of which is provi ed with a dial having an index hand, and a spindle to which said hand is secured, and having the end nearest said hand altered, in combination with a key havin one extremity provided with a recess adapted to fit the ltered portion 'of said spindle and int said key in the same direction as said and.

8. A meter com rising a register the face of which is provi ed with ,a dial having an index hand, and a spindle to which said hand is secured, and having the end nearest said hand altered, in combination with a key, a portion of the shank of which is ta cred and aving one extremity provided wit a recess adapted to fit the altered portion of said spindle and point, the tapered portion of said key in the same direction as said hand.

In witness whereof I have hereunto. set my hand this 9th day of October, 1909.

WILLIAM H. SITTS.

Vitnesses FRANK D. THoMAson E. K. LUrIDY. 

